


Under the Weather

by Alexandria (heartfullofelves)



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Aliens, Family, Gen, Trapped
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2020-01-06 05:01:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18381476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartfullofelves/pseuds/Alexandria
Summary: Max and Michael are snowed in. Isobel is their knight in shining armour.





	Under the Weather

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SinginInTheRaine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SinginInTheRaine/gifts).



> I wrote the first 400 words of this _before_ 1x11 aired, so it was amazing to see the show use the same concept as the fic I was working on! 
> 
> Anyway, hope you like it and have a happy Space Swap!

The howling wind eased. It gave Michael a chance to climb the ladder and try the door that separated his bunker from the outside world. He gave the door a good yank, but an unseen force slammed it shut again. Cursing, he clambered back down the ladder and looked at Max.

“You want the good news or the bad news?” he said.

Max sighed, running his hand through his hair. “The good news.”

Michael grinned, and gestured at the space above them. “Good news is the storm’s over.”

Max’s eyes narrowed. “And the bad news?”

“We’re snowed in.”

“Well that’s just great,” Max said, scowling.

Michael held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Sorry for not snow-proofing my secret alien bunker. My genius only goes so far.”

“Did it go so far as to install any heating?” Max eyed the room as if hoping for a heater to leap out at him. None did.

“On a mechanic’s wages?” Michael scoffed. Heating his secret underground lair was the least of his priorities.

Sighing again, Max sat down and got out his phone. “Damn it,” he muttered.

Michael frowned. “What?”

“No signal.” Jaw clenched, Max pocketed his phone.

“Nah,” Michael said, joining him in sitting down. “I’ve never been able to get cell reception down here. One of the perks of the place when I’m working down here, missing your calls.”

Max’s eyes had been directed at the floor, but now they flicked back to Michael. “How long until you complete your ship? Until you leave us?”

Michael winced, unable to hold Max’s gaze. “That depends on when I find the next piece of the UFO. Could be tomorrow, could be in 10 years’ time. No idea.” Sucking in a deep breath, he looked at Max again. “You and Isobel wanna come with me? Learn about who we are and where we came from?”

Tightening his jaw, Max shook his head. “You know I’m happy here. Isobel too.”

Despite expecting that exact answer, Michael sighed and leaned back in his chair. It had always been this way, with him being curious to learn everything about themselves while Max and Isobel lived their normal, privileged lives without that need for something more. Although if Michael had a chance of convincing one of the Evans twins to join him in his quest for knowledge, he thought it would be Isobel.

“Yeah,” he said. “I know.”

Max was shivering and doing a bad job of covering it up. “Do you have _anything_ useful down here, like a blanket? Or food? Water?”

“Just alien crap. Seriously, I don’t have anything hidden away.”

Michael rubbed at his arms, feeling the chill now too. He winced, wondering how long they’d be here. They could be trapped for days, depending on how deep the snow above them was. Nobody knew where they were, and they had no cell phone signal. Above all, he was trapped with _Max_ of all people. This was just great.

He rustled through his pockets and came up with some cash. “Okay, $10 says we freeze to death before we run out of oxygen.”

The look Max gave him could’ve frozen his blood if he weren’t already so cold. “We’re not going to die here. Isobel will find us, I’d bet on that. Her or Liz.”

“One of them had better. I don’t want to die on this planet.” Michael kept his tone light, but his eyes betrayed how true his words were. This planet had never been kind to him; he didn’t want Earth to beat him in death as well as in life. He wanted to see the stars first. He wanted to find their home.

Max’s answer to that was one of his looks as he tilted his head. “We’re not going to die in here,” he repeated. “We’re not.”

“Who you trying to convince?” Michael raised his eyebrows.

Sighing, Max folded his arms. “You’re too dramatic sometimes.”

Michael couldn’t stop the laugh that burst out of his mouth. “Says you.”

Max shook his head. “We’ll get out of here. I know we will.”

* * *

In the turquoise mines outside of Roswell, Isobel glanced at her watch and rolled her eyes. It was too much to hope Michael would show up to her spontaneous trip to see if anything in the mines would shed light on their history or her apparent relationship with Rosa. But she’d expected Max to drop what he was doing and accompany her, even though it was snowing.

Pulling her phone out of her bag, she tried calling him but got the engaged tone.

“Damn it, Max, where are you?” she muttered.

It wasn’t like Max to ignore her like this. She frowned, wondering what was going on. Their lives had become so much more dangerous lately, beginning in June when Max had resurrected Liz and told her their secret. He could be in real trouble.

Using their telepathic bond, she reached her mind out to Max, and relaxed when they connected. Good; he was alive and breathing. Next, she was able to learn that he and Michael were trapped. That was interesting, as they usually couldn’t be found hanging out together without her there. Maybe they weren’t just hanging out, though. Probing deeper, she saw that they were underground, in some bunker underneath Michael’s trailer. Curiouser and curiouser, she thought.

She sent Max a reassurance that she would come, and sensed his gratitude. Slinging her bag back over her shoulder and pulling her woollen beanie down to better cover her ears, she left the cave and returned to her car.

The drive was slow going, the road slippery with melted snow. She kept her hands glued to the steering wheel, making sure she was in complete control of the vehicle.

Sanders’ Auto looked different under a coating of snow, she noticed as she drove in. Pulling up beside Michael’s Airstream and getting out of the car, she noticed the trailer had been moved, just a little bit. When she saw a metal handle peeking out of the snow, she understood why. Sometimes, Michael the idiot genius wasn’t such an idiot after all.

At this time of year, Isobel kept a snow shovel and a set of snow chains in the trunk of her car. She grabbed the shovel and started digging. In truth, there wasn’t a lot of snow – it would melt by the end of the day – but she could see why Michael and Max might be panicking if they didn’t know that. Getting trapped underground for any length of time wasn’t many people’s idea of fun.

It didn’t take long before she could open the hatch, but she had to dig in her heels to stop herself from slipping and falling down the hole.

“You two owe me big time!” she shouted.

Two heads popped into her view, the relief clear on both Max and Michael’s faces. Michael clambered up the ladder first, and once he reached the top he wrapped his arms around Isobel in a loose hug. She gave him an awkward pat on the back and pulled out a bottle of acetone to get him away from her.

“Thanks,” he gasped, snatching the bottle. The guy drank way too much of the stuff, but she could excuse it just this once.

Max had now emerged, and he hugged her too. “Thank you, Isobel. You were good to drive all that way in the snow for us.”

“Yeah. I was.” She couldn’t help rolling her eyes. “Thanks for finally acknowledging that I’m the best big sister ever.”

“Little sister.” Max folded his arms.

Leaning against the Airstream, Michael looked amused but didn’t contribute to the conversation. He was a gambler; Isobel wondered if he was thinking about the odds of her or Max winning.

“Whatever,” she said. “I’m going to see if Bean Me Up’s open for lunch. Want a ride to the Wild Pony, Michael? Haven’t seen you day drinking for a while. Are you okay?”

The pinched look on his face told her what she wanted to know – that he wasn’t okay; he was going through something. Well, that made two of them. Maybe three, but Max hadn’t been opening up to her ever since he’d discovered her part in Liz leaving town a decade ago.

“Why not the Crashdown?” Max suggested. “All of us, like old times.”

The three of them looked at each other. Isobel smirked, wondering if Liz was working there again since the fire at the hospital had put an end to her research. Meeting her eye, Michael smirked too, telling her that he was thinking the same damn thing.

“Fine,” Michael said. “Let’s do it.” He stepped away from his trailer and used his powers to move it so that it covered the door of the bunker.

Isobel looked at Max and rubbed her chin. At last, she said, “All right. But since I rescued you guys and Michael’s broke, you’re paying, Max.”

Max shook his head in what looked like resignation, but he accepted when Michael gave him a pointed look. Isobel only ever asked her brother for things she deserved. Who was he to disagree with that?


End file.
